Leather skiving machine or splitter



R. w. HALL LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE 0R SPLITTER Original Filed July 19, 1947 Sept. 26, 1950 s Sheet s-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

Sept. 26, 1950 R. w. HALL 2,524,015

LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE 0R SPLITTER Original Filed July 19, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Ralph W Hall 29 30 3 fgs.

Sept. 26, 1950 R. w. HALL LEATHER sxzvmc MACHINE OR SPLITTER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed July 19, 1947 m M mm M a T IT H H I 9% V EH E E Q Q m, 1 w 1 I d MET/L. L w WMH Q MM \1 Q .0) NM 9w mm. m9 RN v h Q-w r n QB. HHHQINI: m. G J @N WW9 mw m T a km 8. v m hm? NM hm m9 m \m. NQ 3? \Q .Hl. (m mm. \Q\

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 2,524,0i LEATHER sKIvING MAGHINE on SFLIITTERI Ralph W. Hall, Cincinn'ati, 0hio, assignor to The Randall Company, Cincinnati, 0hio,'a corporation of Ohio Original application July 19, 1947, Serial No.

762,177. Divided and this application September 13, 1948, Serial No. 49,074

Claiins.

This invention relates to improvements in a leather skiving machine, splitter, or the like.

This application is a division of my pending application Serial No. 762,177 filed July 19, 1947. One object of the invention is the provision of means for gaging or indicating the proper tension of the skiving knife blade or'band.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for indicating the proper tension of skiving knives of varying lengths, said means requiring no adjustments after the completion of the initial assembly.

These and other objects and advantages are attained by the means described in the following specifications and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. i is a front elevational view of the skiving machine embodying the improvements herein described, parts being broken away for clarity of illustration and description.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the skiving machine.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the skiving machine.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the skiving knife blade tensioning mechanism and knife tension indicator.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view, slightly enlarged, taken along a line V-V in Fig; 4.

Machines for skiving leather and kindred materials are in general usage for producing thin sheets employed in the manufacture of bill folds, bags and cases of various types, shoe parts, and many other articles of commerce incorporating thin flexible sheet leather and similar materials.

Such machines heretofore'have given notoriously effectiveness all grades or weights of raw material,

andvarious other limitations most of which resuit from the varied nature of the materials to be processed. The limitations whichimpair the usefulness and eiiiciency of such machines are well known in the trade, and many efforts have been advanced in the past with the purpose of overcoming some of the difiiculties, but the market still has been seeking a satisfactorily operative and serviceable machine which is capable of advanced universal usage and productivenes's. The machine of the present invention has provenitself greatly superior to others heretofore offered to industry, in its ability to process raw materials varying considerably as to weight, size, hardness, and uniformity of thick-,- ness, and in addition, provision has been made for maximum continuity of operation by reason of mechanical improvements, and the incorporation of means permitting a plurality of different skiving operations simultaneously. Various other advantages of merit in the improved machine will become manifestto those skilled in the art, as the description proceeds.

As exemplified in Fig. l, the head, generally indicated by the character I5, is mounted on the bed l6, which in turn is supported by the legs I7 and [8.

An endless band knife 29 (Fig. 1) tracks upon a pair of horizontally aligned coplanar rotating drums 30 and 3|, mounted at opposite ends of the bed [6. The knife 29 performs a splitting or skiving action on leather or other material as said material is fed into the machine from the feeding table 33. Drum 30, mounted on drum .shaft 35, is driven by the motor 36 by means of the pulley'belt 3'! and pulleys 38 and 39. Drum 31 mounted on shaft 40, is free running, and is rotated by'means of frictional engagement of the knife blade 29 with the two drums as drum 3i; is rotated by the motor 36. Drum shafts and 40 are mounted for rotation in substantially parallel drumshaft housings M and t2, respectively, said shaft housings being swivel mounted upon the bed It adjacent the outer ends thereof. The pulley belt 31 and pulleys 38 and 39 may be protected by means of the belt guard 44.

Means maybe provided for adjusting the knife blade 29 to track true upon the drums and against the drum flanges- 43. Adjusting means in the exemplified form comprises a pair of blocks (Fig. 3) secured at opposite sides of each drum shaft housing and near the outer end thereof. The blocks 45 are provided with tapped holes for the reception of set screws 36. Loosening, either screw and tightening the other will swivel the housing about its pivot, the adjustment being completed when the knife tracks true upon the drum and against the flange 4 3. While Fig. 3 showsonly the-adjusting means for drum shaft housing 4!, it is to be understood that similar adjusting means is provided for drum shaft housing' 42 at the opposite end of the bed it. The knife blade 29 always travelsv in a fixed path upon the drums 3'6 and 31 and through the head 15, regardless of the angularly' swiveled position of the head [5 or the'forward or rearward position of said head upon the bearing surface H).

In performing the skiving or splitting operation upon leather or other material, the knife blade 29' must be set at the proper tension. It is also necessary, in order to prolong the life of the blade, to release the working tension of the knife when the machine is not in use, as overnight, for instance. It was formerly a matter of guess work to obtain the proper working tension at the beginning of each days work, an operation which required an undue amount of time on the part of an inexperienced or unskilled operator. With the knife tension indicator about to be described, it is a simple matter for any operator, however inexperienced, to obtain the proper working tension of the knife blade 29, thus obviating the objections encountered in former skiving machines.

While the drum shaft housing 4! is fixed against further movement after the drum adjustment has been made as described in a preceding paragraph, the opposite drum shaft housing 42 is mounted for shifting movement upon the bed I6 for tensioning the knife blade 29. The base plate 48 of the drum shaft housing 42 (Fig. 2) is provided with a rabbet on the front and rear edges thereof, the tongues 49 of the rabbeted edges being slidably engaged by correspondingly rabbeted guide rails 50 and 54 longitudinally bolted or otherwise fixed to the bed I6, as shown. Mechanism for tensioning and untensioning the knife blade 29 and for indicating the proper working tension, shown clearly in Fig. 4, is actuated by rotating the hand wheel I, the shaft of which extends through the side wall 52 of the bed I6.

Clearance is provided in the upper surface 53 (Fig. 1) of the bed I6 for the free reciprocal movement of the bored-sleeve support 55, suitably attached to the drum shaft housing base 48, as by means of the bolts 56, said clearance being indicated at 5? in Fig. 1. The drum shaft housing 42, drum shaft 48, drum SI, and knife blade 29 are indicated by broken lines in Fig. 4. The sleeve support member 55 is rigidly secured to the inner telescoping sleeve 58 which takes a sliding fit on the large diameter 59 of the tension shaft 55. The sleeve support 55 abuts a shoulder 5i on the sleeve 58 and is confined thereon by means of a nut 62 screwed on the threaded end 63 of the sleeve. A look washer 65 may be interposed between the end 58 of the sleeve support 55 and the nut 62. Theouter telescoping sleeve 61 takes a sliding fit on the inner sleeve 58 and is supported at its outer end by the sleeve bearing 65 fixed to the under side of the bed I5 as by means of bolts 59. The bearing 68, bored to receive the outer sleeve 61 in a sliding fit, is in axial alignment with the sleeve support 55, said alignment being substantially parallel to the travel of the band knife 29.

At the free end iii of the sleeve 6'! is disposed a nut 7i, fixed thereto against rotation, as by means of screws, welds, or the like. The nut II receives the threaded end. I2 of the tension shaft 60. This shaft is confined against longitudinal movement by means of a flange 13 provided near the outer end of the shaft and held against the outer face of the bed wall 52 by the shaft bearing which is recessed to receive the flange I3. To receive the thrust of the shaft 68, a bored plate or washer 76 may be interposed between the outer face of the end wall 52 and the inner face of the shaft bearing I5, these two members being secured to the end wall 52 by means of screws i7. Keyed or otherwise fixed to the outer end 18 of the tension shaf'tlill is the hand wheel 5I, which may be secured against displacement by the nut I9. A clearance hole in the end wall 52, through which the tension shaft extends, is indicated at 80.

A tension indicator tube carrier 82 (Fig. 43 provided with a large split bore 83 (Fig. 5) is clamped to the inner telescoping sleeve 58. The clamp portion 86 of the tube carrier abuts the inner face 81 of the sleeve support 55. Clamping is obtained by tightening the screw 88 inserted through the apertured ears 89 of the tube carrier 32, the split being indicated at 98 in Fig. 5. The tube carrier arm 9| which extends laterally from the clamping portion 86 of the tube carrier 82 is provided at its outer end with a smaller bore 85, substantially parallel to the split bore 85, into which is inserted the tension indicator tube 92. This indicator tube extends through the clearance hole 93 in the end wall 52, and through the tube support 95, in which it takes a sliding fit, said tube support being secured to the end wall 52 by suitable means, such as screws or the like. The tube support 95, and the bore in the indicator tube carrier 82, are, of course, in axial alignment. The indicator tube 92 is secured to the tube carrier 82 by means of the set screw 96, so that movement of the tube carrier 82 imparts the same movement to the indicator tube 92.

A tension indicator rod carrier 95, similar in construction to the tension indicator tube carrier 82, is clamped to the outer telescoping sleeve 81, substantially midway of the ends thereof, clamping being obtained by tightening the screw 98. The tension indicating rod 99, substantially longer than the tension indicating tube 92, takes a sliding fit through said tube. The end I85 of the indicating tube 99 is inserted through the bore I8! of the tension indicator rod carrier 91, and is secured therein by means of the set screw I82, so that movement of the indicator rod carrier 97 imparts the same movement to the indicator rod 99, which, as shown in Fig. 4, telescopes into the indicator tube 82. Between the tension indicator tube carrier 82 and the end I03 of the outer telescoping sleeve 61, and encircling the inner telescoping sleeve 58, is the compression spring I85. Washers I06 may be provided, against which the ends of the spring abut.

Thus it will be seen that as a clockwise rotation of the hand wheel 5I is initiated, through the threaded engagement of the tension shaft 68 with the nut II, the first action is the movement of the outer telescoping sleeve 5'! to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4, against the force of the spring I85. As the outer sleeve 61 is thus drawn to the right, telescoping on the inner sleeve 58, the clamped-on tension indicator rod carrier 8'! also moves in the same direction, taking with it the tension indicator rod 99 which telescopes into thetension indicator tube 92. Continued clockwise rotation of the hand wheel 5| increases the compression of spring I85 against the tension indicator tube carrier 82 fixed to the inner telescoping sleeve 58, and in fixed relation to the drum shaft housing 42, moving the last named sleeve also to the right on the tension shaft 58. Since the drum shaft housing 42 is fixed to the inner telescoping sleeve 58 by means of the shaft housing base 48, and the sleeve support 55, movement of the inner telescoping sleeve 58 to the right takes with it the drum 3i, upon which is tracked the band knife 29. As the compression on the spring I55 increases, the tension indicator tube carrier 82 moves the tension indicator tube 92 to the right through the tube support 95. While the tension indicator tube 82 is moving to the right, the tension indicator rod 89 is also moving in the same direction through said tube, but at a faster rate of travel.

F When the proper adjustment for the working tension for the band knife 29' has been established, the outer faces Hi8 and 59, respectively, of the tension indicator rod and tube will be in flush relation, as indicated at H11 in Fig. 4.

In setting up the knife tensioning mechanism, the set screws 96 and M2 on the tension indicator tube carrier 82 and the tension indicator rod car- .rier 91, respectively, are left unscrewed. The hand wheel 5| is then turned until the proper working tension is obtained on the band knife 29. When this has been definitely determined, the indicator tube 92 is positioned to protrude slightly outside the tube support 95 on the wall 52 of the bed 1'6, as indicated in Fig. 4. The tension indicator rod 99 is then positioned so that the end face I08 thereof is flush with the end face I09 of the tension indicator tube 92. The set screws 96 and IE2 are then firmly tightened.

Thereafter, when the tension on the band knife .is released, which should be done at the end of each day or whenever the machine is not in "use,

.inorder to prolong the life of the knife, the tension indicator tube 92 will recede into the tube support 95, and the tension indicator rod 9t will recede into the tube. It is then a simple matter to 're-tension the knife 29 by turning the hand wheel clockwise until the end faces of the indicator rod and tube are flush, as at I01. If the rod protrudes beyond the tube, the tension on the knife is too great. In that case, the hand wheel is turned counter-clockwise to bring the rod end face flush with the tube end face. Thus it will be seen that even the most unskilled operator design of the present invention positively assures this accurate gaging of the knife tension regardless of length variation which normal'trade tolerances allow. The double action of the sleeve 61 compressed against the spring I05 and the said spring compressed against the drum shaft housing 42, with the associated indicator rod and tube, as built into the present invention, never fails to give a correct reading of the band knife tension, regardless of normal variations in the lengths of such band knives.

As a protective measure, guards may be provided for the drums, such as indicated at I In and H2 (Fig. 1). These drum guards, arcuate in form, are detachably supported by means of clamp screws H3 pivoted on the drum guard brackets H5 and H5, suitably mounted behind each drum. Drum guard support H5 may be mounted directly upon the drum shaft housing ll. However, in order toprovide clearance for any slight movement of the drum shaft housing 42 necessary for tensioning and untensioning the band knife 29, the lower part of the drum guard support H6 may be bifurcate, as indicated in Fig. l, the legs of the bifurcation spanning the said shaft housing and mounted upon the rabbeted 'guide'rail 54 (Fig. 2).

The machine is provided with two sets of knife guides, one directly behind the feed rolls, and the other at the grinding station, as indicatedat H8 inFigfl.

e For best results in leatherskiving or splitting, the cutting "edge of the band knife 29 must be kept'keen 21313.11 times. For this purpose, grinding wheels 230' and 23l are provided, said wheels being individually'motor driven to actupon the lower run of the rotating band knife, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

'The machine constructed as disclosed herein is highly'productive and will perform many operations'which heretofore had to be assigned to other machines especially adapted for splitting differtions and changes in the structural details of the machine may be :made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. In a machine of the class described, a bed, a'pair 'of coplanar'knife supporting drums vertically mounted upon said bed, means for rotatingisaid drums, an endless band knife spanning both drums for frictional rotation therewith, one of said drums being mounted in fixed relation to said bed, a base plate mounting the other of said drums for sliding movement toward and from said one drum, means in association with said base plate for tensioning and untensionlng the knife blade, said means comprising a bored sleeve support fixed to the under surface of the base plate, a bored sleeve bearing fixed to the under'surfaoe of the bed, said support and bearing being 'in axial alignment, inner and outer telescoping Sleeves-one end of the inner telescoping sleeve being received in the bore of the sleeve support and rigidly fixed thereto, the outer telescoping sleeve being slidable within the bore of the'sleeve bearingg a rotatable shaft 'slidable within the inner telescoping sleeve, said shaft having one end rotatably mounted against longitudinal movement we wall of the bed, and having its opposite'end threaded and extending beyond the outer telescoping sleeve, 'a nut in engagement with-said threaded shaft end, said nut being fixed to an end of the outer telescoping sleeve in axial alignment'therewith, and a compression spring in encircling relation with the inner telescoping sleeve interposed between the sleeve support and the outer telescoping sleeve, and means in association with'the tensioning'means indicating a proper working tension of the knife blade.

2. In a material splitting machine, the combination of a bed, material feeding means supbed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting the other drum, a bored support carrying the second bearing, and means s'lidably mounting the support upon the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, an inner sleeve having an end fixed-within the bore of the support, With the'opposite end of the sleeve extending therefrom, 'a tension indicator tube carrier fixed relative to said sleeve support, a tension shaft rotatable within the inner, sleeve'and having one end "ate 1,015

7 rotatably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, a screw thread on the opposite end of the tension shaft and extending beyond the inner sleeve, an outer sleeve slidably surroundig the inner sleeve and having an outer end, an internally threaded nut fixed to one end of the outer sleeve for engagement with the thread of the tension shaft, a spring yieldingly urging the -outer sleeve in the direction of the extending end of the inner sleeve, a bored sleeve bearing I slidably accommodating the outer sleeve and having fixed relation to the machine bed, a ten- .sion indicator rod extending in substantia1 parallelism with the tension shaft and having adjustable connection with the outer sleeve for movement therewith, said rod having an end visible exteriorly of the machine bed, and a tension indicator tube surrounding the indicator rod, said tube having connection with the tension indicator tube carrier aforesaid, for movement therewith, said tub having an end visible exteriorly of the machine bed and resting flush with the visible end of the indicator rod under predetermined tension of the band knife.

3. A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous band cutter trained over the drums, a bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting th other drum, means slidably mounting the second bearing on the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, a tension shaft having one end rotatably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, an operating handle on said shaft, a spring, means including a nut operative upon rotation of the tension shaft in one direction to impose the force of the spring against the second bearing in a direction to tension the continuous band cutter, a tension indicator rod movable with th nut, a tension indicator tube movable with the slidably mounted bearing, said rod being telescopically received in said tube, the rod and the tube having corresponding ends resting flush with one another under a given tension of the continuous band outter.

A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous lband cutter trained over the drums, a bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting th other drum, means slidably mounting the second bearing on the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, a

tension shaft having one end rotatably journaled tending in a common direction substantially parallel to the tension shaft, means enforcing movement of one indicating element with the nut, and means enforcing movement of the other indicat ing element with the slidably mounted bearin the length of said elements being gauged to effect re istry of corresponding ends thereof at a given tension of the continuous band cutter.

5. A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous band cutter trained over the drums, a bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one .of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably g mounting the other drum, means slidably mounting the second bearing on the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing,- a

tension shaft having one end rotatably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, an operating handle on said shaft, a spring, means including a nut operative upon rotation of the tension shaft in one direction to impose the force of the spring against the second bearing in a direction to tension the continuous band cutter, a pair of elongate tension indicating elements extending in a common direction substantially parallel to the tension shaft, means enforcing movement of one indicating element with the nut, and means enforcin movement of the other indicating element with the slidably mounted bearing, the length of said elements being gauged to effect registry of corresponding ends thereof at a given tension of the continuous band cutter, and means for independently varying the effective lengths of the indicating elements, to efifect registry of their corresponding ends at different tensions of said cutter.

6. A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous band cutter trained over the drums, a bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting the other drum, means slidably mounting the second bearing on the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, a tension shaft having one end rotatably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, an operating handle on said shaft; a spring, means including a nut operative upon rotation of the tension shaft in one direction to impose the force of the spring against the second bearing in a direction to tension the continuous band cutter, a pair of elongate tension indicating elements extending in a common direction substantially parallel to the tension shaft, means enforcing movement of one indicating element with the nut, and means enforcing movement of the other indicating element with the slidably mounted bearing, the length of said elements being gauged t effect registry of corresponding -ends thereof at a given tension of the continuous band cutter, and means for independently varying the effective lengths of the indicating elements, to effect registry of their corresponding ends at different tensions of said cutter, one of said indicating elements being telescopically slidahle within the other. a

'7. A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous band cutter trained over the drums, a

bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting the other drum, means slidably mounting the second bearing on the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, a tension shaft having one end rotatably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, an operating handle on said shaft, a spring,

means including a nut operative upon rotation of the tension shaft in one direction to impose the force of the spring against the second bearing in a direction to tension the continuous band cutter, and a flush pin indicator associated with the nut and the slidably mounted bearing, for

tinuous band cutter trained over the drumsic a bearing n the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting the other drum, means slidably mounting the second bearing on the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, a tension shaft having one end rota ably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, an operating handle on said shaft, a spring, means including a nut operative upon rotation of the tension shaft in one direction to impose the force of the spring against the second bearing in a direction to tension the continuous band cutter, and a flush pin indicator associated with the nut and the slidably mounted bearing, for visually indicating a given tension of the continuous band cutter, and means for coordihating the flush pin indicator to various band tension values.

9. A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous band cutter trained over the drums, a bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotatably mounting the other drum, a support carryingthe second bearing, and means for slidably mounting the support upon the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, an inner sleeve having an end fixed to said support, with the opposite end of the sleeve extending therefrom, a tension indicator tube carrier fixed relative to said support, a tension shaft rotatable within the inner sleeve and having one end rotatably journaled in the bed against longitddinal movement, a screw thread on the opposite end of the tension shaft and extending beyond the inner sleeve, an outer sleeve loosely surrounding the inner sleeve and having an outer end, an internally threaded nut fixed to one end pf the outer sleeve for engagement with the thread of the tension shaft, a spring yieldingly urging the outer sleeve in the direction of the extending end of the inner sleeve, a pair of -ten sion indicating elements extending in a common direction substantially parallel to the tension shaft, means enforcing movement of one indicating element with the outer sleeve, and means enforcing movement of the other indicating element with the slidably mounted bearing support, the length of said indicating elements being gauged to effect registry of corresponding ends 10 thereof at a given tension of the continuous band cutter.

10. A machine comprising in combination, a bed, a pair of coplanar rotating drums, a continuous band cutter trained over the drums, a bearing on the machine bed for rotatably mounting one of the drums, a second bearing for rotat- W ably mounting the other drum, a support carrying the second bearing, and means for slidably mounting the support upon the bed for movement toward and from the first mentioned bearing, an inner sleeve having an end fixed to said support, with the opposite end of the sleeve extending therefrom, a tension indicator tube carrier fixed relative to said support, a tension shaft rotatable within the inner sleeve and having one end rotatably journaled in the bed against longitudinal movement, a screw thread on the 0pposite end of the tension shaft and extending beyond the inner sleeve, an outer sleeve loosely surrounding the inner sleeve and having an outer end, an internally threaded nut fixed to one end of the outer sleeve for engagement with the thread of the tension shaft, a spring yieldingly urging the outer sleeve in the direction of the extending end of the inner sleeve, a tension indicator rod extending in substantial parallelism With the tension shaft and having adjustable connection with the outer sleeve for movement therewith, said rod having an end visible exteriorly of the machine bed, and a tension indicator tube loosely surrounding the indicator rod, and connected with the aforesaid tension indicator tube carrier for movement therewith, said tube having an end resting flush with the visible end of the indicator rod at a given tension of the band cutter.

RALPH W. HALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,945,883 Connelly Feb. 6, 1934 2,234,352 Plass Mar. 11, 1941 2,311,762 Kottmann et a1. Feb. 23, 1943 2,380,700 Lasar July 31, 1945 2,384,364 Boice et a1 Sept. 4, 1945 

